Researchers from the University of Cambridge have been awarded £7.5 million by the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) to develop programmable plants. This groundbreaking initiative, which includes two major projects, aims to advance agricultural resilience, sustainability, and productivity through synthetic biology. The first project, led by Professor Jake Harris, head of the Chromatin and Memory group, has been awarded £6.5 million to create the world's first artificial plant chromosome. This innovative step involves designing, constructing, and deploying a synthetic chromosome in plants, a feat that has only been achieved in simpler organisms like bacteria and yeast. The team will use Physcomitrium patens, a highly engineerable moss, as a test platform to build and validate the synthetic chromosome. Once successful, they plan to transfer it into more complex crops, such as potatoes. The goal is to enhance plants with new traits, including drought tolerance, pest resistance, and higher productivity, making them more resilient and less resource-intensive. The second project, spearheaded by Professor Alison Smith and Dr. Paweł Mordaka from the Plant Metabolism group, received nearly £1 million as part of a £9 million grant. This project focuses on developing synthetic chloroplasts that enable plants to fix nitrogen and produce vitamin B12. Currently, nitrogen fertilisers contribute significantly to agricultural pollution. By engineering plants to produce their own nitrogen, the researchers aim to reduce this environmental impact. Additionally, vitamin B12 production in plants could address nutritional deficiencies in regions where access to fortified foods is limited. The synthetic chloroplasts will initially be tested in the simple alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii before being transferred to potato plants. Both projects are part of a broader effort to rethink what plants can do and to equip them with novel functionalities. This could revolutionize various aspects of agriculture, from reducing water usage to ensuring food security under changing climatic conditions. The potential applications extend beyond Earth, envisioning future scenarios where plants with these enhanced traits could support human missions in space or thrive in indoor agricultural settings. The ARIA funding is critical for pushing the boundaries of scientific exploration, particularly in plant synthetic biology, which often lies outside the scope of conventional funding mechanisms. According to Professor Harris, ARIA’s approach is unique in that it fosters collaboration and innovation by engaging the research community in defining the goals and methods of such ambitious projects. This has enabled the team to think more creatively and strategically about how to achieve their objectives. The development of these synthetic technologies could drastically reduce the time it takes to bring new crop varieties to market. Traditionally, developing a new crop variety in the UK can take up to eight years, but with synthetic chromosomes and chloroplasts, this timeline could be shortened to just one year or less. This rapid advancement in plant modification parallels the recent breakthroughs in protein-folding technology, which have accelerated drug discovery processes. Industry insiders are enthusiastic about the potential impacts of these projects. They believe that the ability to tailor plant traits through synthetic biology could transform agricultural practices, making them more sustainable and efficient. Companies like Phytoform Labs, which specializes in genetic engineering for plant improvement, see this as a significant opportunity to enhance the resilience and nutritional value of crops. The success of these initiatives could also pave the way for similar innovations in other sectors, such as bioengineering and biotechnology, further solidifying the University of Cambridge's reputation as a leader in cutting-edge research. In summary, the Cambridge researchers are leveraging ARIA funding to pioneer the creation of programmable plants with synthetic chromosomes and chloroplasts. If successful, these advancements could lead to more resilient, productive, and environmentally friendly crops, significantly impacting global agriculture and food security. The innovative approach taken by ARIA, emphasizing collaboration and bold thinking, has the potential to spur major technological leaps in the years to come.